Police say a dispute at Oaks Auto & Truck Service turned deadly after a worker was assigned one more call.

SPRINGDALE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A tow truck driver near the end of his workday shot and killed his manager Wednesday after the manager assigned him another call, Allegheny County police said in a criminal homicide case.

Niko Hostler, 32, of Verona, is charged in the death of Christopher Ashbaugh at Oaks Auto & Truck Service in Springdale Township. Police said the argument began as a workplace dispute and moved quickly from words to violence outside the business. The case now turns on witness statements, surveillance video and Hostler’s own account to investigators as prosecutors prepare for the next court step.

The confrontation began around 5:10 p.m. Wednesday on School Street, police said. Hostler was working at the towing company and told investigators Ashbaugh was his manager. According to the complaint, Ashbaugh directed him to take another tow job as Hostler’s shift was winding down. Hostler became upset and made a remark about Ashbaugh to another employee, police said. Investigators said Ashbaugh was on the phone with that employee and heard the comment. The two men then argued outside the business. A witness nearby later described hearing yelling before the sound of repeated gunfire. “I heard the guy that he shot lying on the ground saying, ‘Help me, help me,’” Amanda Mattern said.

Police said Ashbaugh was shot multiple times and later died. Some local accounts said he was struck about 10 times. Emergency crews responded to the towing business, and Ashbaugh was taken for medical care before he was pronounced dead. Hostler remained a key focus of the investigation from the start, police said. He told investigators Ashbaugh punched him, pushed him and tried to hit him again. Hostler said he feared for his life and did not know whether Ashbaugh had a weapon. Authorities have not publicly said they recovered a weapon from Ashbaugh, and any claim of self-defense remains part of the criminal case rather than a finding by the court.

The shooting left a normally quiet part of Springdale Township marked by police tape, patrol cars and a bloodstain near the business. Residents told local reporters the area is not known for serious violence. The towing company sits in a small community northeast of Pittsburgh, where work trucks, garages and homes are close enough that neighbors could hear the argument. Mattern said she called 911 after seeing the confrontation turn deadly. “Not that I don’t think he would shoot me, but he was in a rage,” she said. Another neighbor, Jen Neumann, said the scene did not fit the block she knew. “It’s quiet here,” she said. “Nothing happens.”

Hostler was arrested and charged with criminal homicide. Court records showed he was held at the Allegheny County Jail without bail after a preliminary arraignment. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 3, where prosecutors would need to show enough evidence for the case to move forward. At that stage, a judge does not decide guilt. The hearing usually tests whether the charge is supported by probable cause. Police said their evidence includes the complaint, witness statements and surveillance video from the area. The public record did not show a final ruling in the case as of the last update used for this report.

The complaint places the fatal moment inside a familiar but high-pressure kind of work. Tow truck drivers may be sent out late in a shift for crashes, breakdowns, repossessions or stranded motorists. Police did not say what type of call Ashbaugh assigned to Hostler or how long the job would have taken. The known dispute, according to investigators, was not with a customer but between two workers over the assignment itself. The business, also referred to in some reports as Oaks Towing, did not offer detailed public comment after the shooting. Its silence left police filings and witness accounts as the main public record of what happened.

Ashbaugh’s death also prompted a public effort to help his family. A fundraiser was started after the shooting, and local reports described him as a tow truck worker and manager whose family was left facing sudden funeral and household costs. Police have released few personal details about either man beyond names, ages, workplace roles and Hostler’s Verona address. No broader motive has been announced beyond the alleged argument over the final call. Investigators also have not said whether there had been past disputes between the two men, whether workplace discipline was involved or whether anyone tried to step between them before the shots were fired.

The case stood with Hostler jailed and charged, Ashbaugh dead and investigators continuing to review the evidence from the School Street shooting. The next key public step was the preliminary hearing set for June 3.

Author note: Last updated June 23, 2026.